Schoolgirls at risk of pregnancy could be sent on a programme that uses babies to put them off premature parenthood, under new government plans to tackle teenage conception.

The move follows promising results from a pioneering project in London that allows teenagers to look after young children in a nursery, so learning at first-hand how tiring and time-consuming parenthood can be.

Hilary Armstrong, who was appointed cabinet minister for social justice in last Friday's reshuffle, visited the Teens to Toddlers project yesterday and said she would now consider spreading such programmes across the country.

'These young adolescents are learning so much about themselves and their own capabilities - as well as how difficult it is to have young children,' she said.

'It's a combination of working with a child in a nursery on a regular basis but also sessions where they talk through relationships, how they see child rearing or parenting skills. It affects their self esteem, but it also benefits the children.'

While ordinarily about 10 of the group would have been expected to get pregnant during the lifetime of the programme, none so far had, she said.

Armstrong said she would concentrate on early intervention with problem families, linking it to the government's drive against antisocial behaviour. Teenage pregnancy rates have fallen in recent years overall, but progress remains patchy across the country, with some boroughs showing inexplicable rises. The Prime Minister's strategy unit has been carrying out an analysis of what factors are most likely to stop schoolgirls conceiving.

Armstrong's brief is to focus on teenage pregnancies and children in care, as well as the mentally ill, for whom she said the criminal justice system had too often been a 'safety net' that did not work.